World Cup Fixtures 2014: Odds and Favorites for Each Group Match

We are but two days away from the start of the 2014 World Cup, and the sports world in buzzing with anticipation. Hosts and tournament favourites Brazil will immediately put their form on display in the opening fixture, and with one of the deepest fields of contenders in the tournament's history, this year's World Cup is shaping up to be one of the best yet.

Let's go over the schedule one last time and discuss the odds and favourites for the tournament ahead of the opening fixture between Brazil and Croatia.

Group A Fixtures

Date

Match

Time

Venue

Favourites

June 12

Brazil vs. Croatia

9 p.m. BST/4 p.m. ET

Sao Paulo

Brazil

June 13

Mexico vs. Cameroon

5 p.m. BST/12 p.m. ET

Natal

Mexico

June 17

Brazil vs. Mexico

8 p.m. BST/3 p.m. ET

Fortaleza

Brazil

June 18

Cameroon vs. Croatia

8 p.m. BST/3 p.m. ET

Manaus

Croatia

June 23

Cameroon vs. Brazil

9 p.m. BST/4 p.m. ET

Brasilia

Brazil

June 23

Croatia vs. Mexico

9 p.m. BST/4 p.m. ET

Recife

Croatia

FIFA.com

Group A Odds

Group A Odds

Group A Odds

Brazil

2/9

Croatia

8/1

Mexico

9/1

Oddsshark.com

Everyone seems to be backing the hosts to go all the way in 2014, with Oddsshark.com having assigned Brazil odds of 3-1 to win the tournament.

Apparent from a brief injury scare over star forward Neymar (which turned out to be nothing worth mentioning), preparation for the World Cup has been nearly flawless for Brazil. The Selecao haven't played a lot of friendlies, but they looked more than solid in the ones they did.

Via SelecaoBrasileira, the team has looked very healthy and in fine form in training so far:

Neymar scored a goal and made a nice assist in training today. He looked in good form. Marcelo and Hulk played well too. No injury worries.

There were a handful of players who didn't seem to be giving it their all during the team's friendlies, but Barcelona's Dani Alves told the media those players were mainly concerned with avoiding injuries, as shared by SelecaoBrasileira:

Dani Alves: "Don't criticize us too much for friendlies, the players didn't want to risk anything to not get injured. It was our main goal."

Brazil will play in one of the more intriguing groups of the World Cup, facing three teams all capable of pulling off an upset. Mexico haven't been in spectacular form lately, but on their day they have the talent and chemistry to go up against anyone.

Croatia are a Cup team, nearly defeating the two finalists of Euro 2012 during the group stages two years ago. The trio of Mario Mandzukic, LukaModric and Ivan Rakitic would walk into most teams in world football, and the talent backing them up isn't too shabby either.

Cameroon are a bit of a wild card, but their 2-2 draw in Germany showed they aren't afraid of playing with the big boys. If Samuel Eto'o can find his best form and the rest of the team can rally around him, they too could make life hard on the Brazilians.

Group B Fixtures

Date

Match

Time

Venue

Favourites

June 13

Spain vs. Netherlands

8 p.m. BST/3 p.m. ET

Salvador

Spain

June 13

Chile vs. Australia

11 p.m. BST/6 p.m. ET

Cuiaba

Chile

June 18

Spain vs. Chile

11 p.m. BST/6 p.m. ET

Rio de Janeiro

Spain

June 18

Australia vs. Netherlands

5 p.m. BST/12 p.m. ET

Porto Alegre

Netherlands

June 23

Australia vs. Spain

5 p.m. BST/12 p.m. ET

Curitiba

Spain

June 23

Netherlands vs. Chile

5 p.m. BST/12 p.m. ET

Sao Paulo

Netherlands

FIFA.com

Group B Odds

Spain

20/27

Netherlands

9/4

Chile

4/1

Australia

33/1

Oddsshark.com

Group C Fixtures

Date

Match

Time

Venue

Favourites

June 14

Colombia vs. Greece

5 p.m. BST/12 p.m. ET

Belo Horizonte

Colombia

June 14

Ivory Coast vs. Japan

11 p.m. BST/6 p.m. ET

Recife

Ivory Coast

June 19

Colombia vs. Ivory Coast

5 p.m. BST/12 p.m. ET

Brasilia

Colombia

June 19

Japan vs. Greece

11 p.m. BST/6 p.m. ET

Natal

Japan

June 24

Japan vs. Colombia

9 p.m. BST/4 p.m. ET

Cuiaba

Colombia

June 24

Greece vs. Ivory Coast

9 p.m. BST/4 p.m. ET

Fortaleza

Ivory Coast

FIFA.com

Group C Odds

Colombia

2/3

Ivory Coast

4/1

Japan

4/1

Greece

9/1

Oddsshark.com

Group D Fixtures

Date

Match

Time

Venue

Favourites

June 14

Uruguay vs. Costa Rica

8 p.m. BST/3 p.m. ET

Fortaleza

Uruguay

June 14

England vs. Italy

11 p.m. BST/6 p.m. ET

Manaus

Italy

June 19

Uruguay vs. England

8 p.m. BST/3 p.m. ET

Sao Paulo

Uruguay

June 20

Italy vs. Costa Rica

5 p.m. BST/12 p.m. ET

Recife

Italy

June 24

Italy vs. Uruguay

5 p.m. BST/12 p.m. ET

Natal

Italy

June 24

Costa Rica vs. England

5 p.m. BST/12 p.m. ET

Belo Horizonte

England

FIFA.com

Group D Odds

Italy

3/2

Uruguay

9/5

England

9/4

Costa Rica

50/1

Oddsshark.com

Group E Fixtures

Date

Match

Time

Venue

Favourites

June 15

Switzerland vs. Ecuador

5 p.m. BST/12 p.m. ET

Brasilia

Switzerland

June 15

France vs. Honduras

8 p.m. BST/3 p.m. ET

Porto Alegre

France

June 20

Switzerland vs. France

8 p.m. BST/3 p.m. ET

Salvador

France

June 20

Honduras vs. Ecuador

11 p.m. BST/6 p.m. ET

Curitiba

Ecuador

June 25

Honduras vs. Switzerland

9 p.m. BST/4 p.m. ET

Manaus

Switzerland

June 25

Ecuador vs. France

9 p.m. BST/4 p.m. ET

Rio de Janeiro

France

FIFA.com

Group E Odds

France

4/5

Switzerland

5/2

Ecuador

7/2

Honduras

33/1

Oddsshark.com

Group F Fixtures

Date

Match

Time

Venue

Favourites

June 15

Argentina vs. Bosnia-Herzegovina

11 p.m. BST/6 p.m. ET

Rio de Janeiro

Argentina

June 16

Iran vs. Nigeria

8 p.m. BST/3 p.m. ET

Curitiba

Nigeria

June 21

Argentina vs. Iran

5 p.m. BST/12 p.m. ET

Belo Horizonte

Argentina

June 21

Nigeria vs. Bosnia-Herzegovina

11 p.m. BST/6 p.m. ET

Cuiaba

B&H

June 25

Nigeria vs. Argentina

5 p.m. BST/12 p.m. ET

Porto Alegre

Argentina

June 25

Bosnia-Herzegovina vs. Iran

5 p.m. BST/12 p.m. ET

Salvador

B&H

FIFA.com

Group F Odds

Argentina

1/4

Bosnia and Herzegovina

6/1

Nigeria

8/1

Iran

33/1

Oddsshark.com

Whether or not Argentina have the talent required to become world champions isn't the question—it's whether or not they can come together as a team in time to perform against the other favourites.

In Lionel Messi, the team can field one of the world's very best players, and he's surrounded by arguably the team's deepest group of offensive talent.

Angel di Maria, Sergio Aguero and Gonzalo Higuain are all world-class forwards, and it seems almost unfair to put them all on the same team.

Victor R. Caivano/Associated Press

Argentina's biggest concern is the fact their defence doesn't boast the same kind of talent, and despite having excellent players like Ezequiel Garay and Marcos Rojo, the unit hasn't played up to standards in their recent friendlies.

Against the likes of Iran, Nigeria and Bosnia and Herzegovina, this shouldn't be a problem. The Albiceleste will have three relatively easy group matches they can use to build confidence in the abilities of their defence, and if everything goes to plan, the team should be ready by the time the knockout stages begin.

In a single head-to-head, there are few teams that strike more fear into the hearts of opposing players than Argentina. Whether or not they can consistently perform in a tournament they haven't won since 1986 is a different question altogether, and it's one we can't wait to see answered.

Group G Fixtures

Date

Match

Time

Venue

Favourites

June 16

Germany vs. Portugal

5 p.m. BST/12 p.m. ET

Salvador

Germany

June 16

Ghana vs. United States

11 p.m. BST/6 p.m. ET

Natal

USA

June 21

Germany vs. Ghana

8 p.m. BST/3 p.m. ET

Fortaleza

Germany

June 22

United States vs. Portugal

8 p.m. BST/3 p.m. ET

Manaus

Portugal

June 26

United States vs. Germany

5 p.m. BST/12 p.m. ET

Recife

Germany

June 26

Portugal vs. Ghana

5 p.m. BST/12 p.m. ET

Brasilia

Portugal

FIFA.com

Group G Odds

Germany

5/9

Portugal

11/4

USA

10/1

Ghana

12/1

Oddsshark.com

Bleacher Report's Clark Whitney wrote an excellent article on the state of the German national football team recently, and for fans of the World Cup, it's a must-read.

Whitney believes manager Joachim Loew shouldn't be blamed for failing to bring home the trophy should the tournament not go to plan, and he's got a point—everything that could have gone wrong for Die Mannschaft has gone wrong:

However, for Loew to be castigated for Germany's probable failure to win the World Cup would be cruel and unwarranted. Everything that could have gone wrong for the Mannschaft has.

To start with, Germany's path to the title will in all likelihood be extremely difficult. Should they reach the semifinal, their opponents will in all likelihood be Brazil. In the final will be Spain or any team that can manage to oust the reigning world and two-time defending European champions.

Beyond the competition, Germany will face the harshest conditions at the World Cup. Analysis by Bloomberg found that based on historical patterns, the Germans will be subjected to the most extreme weather in their scheduled matches, with Italy the only country that comes close.

And then of course there is the most discussed problem for the German team: injuries and fitness.

IlkayGundogan, Marco Reus and Marcel Schmelzer are all absent due to injury—Manuel Neuer, PhilippLahm, Bastian Schweinsteiger, MesutOzil, Miroslav Klose and SamiKhedira all have issues with their form and will most likely not be at their best during the tournament.

No matter how you spin it, that is a lot to overcome, even for a team as deep as Germany.

Group G is every manager's nightmare. Portugal are a dangerous team led by the single greatest player in the world, Cristiano Ronaldo. Ghana will play at full throttle for 90 minutes, and even if they can't beat them, their athletic style of play will take its toll on the German players.

Matthias Schrader/Associated Press

As for the USA, they've been one of the most in-form teams during preparation, and in JurgenKlinsmann they have a manager who knows a thing or two about German football.

Germany aren't just expected to win Group G—they're expected to make a deep run in the tournament. Surviving the group of death will be hard enough, and there's no way the team comes out of the group stages without taking some damage.

Yet for all of these setbacks, people still expect the team to dominate. They're just so talented, and when everything's clicking, they're as close to unbeatable as it gets.

Should Germany overcome the odds and win the 2014 World Cup, it would truly be a testament to the greatness of this team. And for all of their issues, very few people will bet against it happening.